Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices having skin materials designed to reduce the temperature at the exterior surfaces of devices to thereby reduce the temperature experienced by a user when touching such devices.
Background
As handheld and portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and watches, increase in capability and functionality, the electronic components within the devices must provide improved computational performance levels. In order to achieve these higher computational performance levels, such electronic devices dissipate increasing amounts of energy in the form of heat. Due to the compact size of typical devices, this energy can result in rapid temperature increases both within the device and at the exterior surface or skin of the device.
Human skin can be sensitive to the heat dissipated by the device surface. Accordingly, the skin or surface temperature of handheld device is a critical design constraint. Temperatures at one or more surfaces of handheld devices may become too hot to touch, thus leading to uncomfortable user experience. For example, a high temperature at any one of a housing surface, back cover surface, or liquid crystal display (LCD) surface may cause a user to place the device on a surface to continue use or to stop using the device altogether. Furthermore, high temperature surfaces can become a safety hazard due to local skin burning. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the skin temperature of a handheld device. In doing so, however, it is critical to maintain the internal temperature of handheld devices at levels that do not have a detrimental effect on the operation and longevity of internal components.